Mongolia

Located along the historic Silk Road trading network, landlocked MONGOLIA is located in northern Asia. China is to the south and Russia is located north of Mongolia, while Kazakhstan is several miles and kilometers to the west. A very small part of Kazakhstan is visible in the top-left area of the map above. Mongolia holds the distinction of being the world's most sparsely-populated country! Mongolia has 21 provinces known as aymguud (plural form) and aymag (singular). The currency is the Mongolian Togrog (₮), and its ISO 4217 currency code is MNT.

● ● ● ● ●  People and Places  ● ● ● ● ●  In Mongolia, there are slightly more than 2.9 million residents as of 2015. Almost 45% of all residents live in Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator), the capital city with a population larger than 1.3 million. With more details in the following post link, other towns and cities in Mongolia include Altay, Bayanhongor, Buyant-Uhaa, Erdenet, Mörön, and Onon. Mongolian (Halh) is the country's official and national language. About 95% of citizens are of Mongol ethnicity. Other spoken languages and ethnicities include Buriat, Darkhat, Kazakh, Turkish, and Tuvin (Tuvinians). Mandarin Chinese and Russian are other spoken languages, which makes sense given that Mongolia is situated between China and Russia.

● ● ● ● ●  Land and Water Features  ● ● ● ● ●  The Altay (Altai) mountains dominate western Mongolia, while the Gobi (Govĭ) Desert stretches across southern Mongolia and into northern China. Altay is not the only mountain range, as evident in the mountain ranges of Mongolia post. They include the Bulnayn mountains in the northwest, Govĭ Altayn mountains in the south, and Hentiyn mountains in in the northeast. Being Mongolia's tallest mountain, Nayramadlin Orgil stands at 4,374 meters and 14,350 feet near the China-Mongolia border in the Altay mountain range. Two major rivers — Selenga and Yenisei — flow through northern Mongolia and are part of the world's fifth longest river system. The Angara, Selenga, and Yenisei rivers are part the longest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. Flowing past Ulaanbaatar, the Tuul River in north-central Mongolia is connected to the Orhon River, a tributary of the Selenga River. Northern Mongolia also boasts two major lakes: Hövsgöl and Uvs.

Sites of Interest
Situated in Dornod and Hentiy provinces in northeastern Mongolia, the 2,000-year-old Wall of Genghis Khan prevented animals belonging to Genghis Khan's son from escaping. Another historic structure with ties to Khan is Karakorum, an ancient site and the Mongol Empire's capital. Karakorum Ancient Site is northeast of present-day Karakorum (Kharkhorin) city.

More information and a new map were added on August 12th, 2015.